Peaches Teaberry's Bloghttps://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com
Just another WordPress.com weblogThu, 14 Dec 2017 02:29:59 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngPeaches Teaberry's Bloghttps://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com
Feast for Dedication of St. John Lateran 2017https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/feast-for-dedication-of-st-john-lateran-2017/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/feast-for-dedication-of-st-john-lateran-2017/#respondThu, 09 Nov 2017 16:32:57 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=77]]>Today’s office was filled with inspiration for me. Thank you Lord. Two of the antiphons in particular held meaning.

“My house will be called a house of prayer.”

“Blessed are you O Lord, in your holy temple.”

Both of these antiphons made me think of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity whose feast we celebrated yesterday. She taught about the indwelling of the Trinity in our souls. As a Carmelite her vocation was and is prayer. Because of the indwelling, each of us is a house and temple. As a secular Carmelite my vocation too is prayer. I am a house for God because of the indwelling and I am called to be a house of prayer as a Carmelite. It is my calling to live my vocation in such a way that God will be happy or blessed in his temple, which is me. O what a glorious vocation this is.

Carmelites are given their vocation, not for themselves, but for the Church. The third antiphon and the reading speak to this.

“Praise the Lord in the assembly of his holy people.”

“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

St. Elizabeth said she would continue from heaven to help people develop their spiritual lives. We, as houses of prayer for the Lord are called to do the same during our lives. As Carmelites we are gifted for the Church. We prayer for each and every soul; past, present and future. That’s why I love it when Daniel’s canticle is prayed. I spiritually call out to each part of creation named and unite them with my prayer, calling for them to praise our creator with me.

The next antiphon spoke of Zacchaeus. One of the conferences that I’ll be teaching about in ongoing formation class next month also talks about that reading. I am reminded of how wounded he was before his encounter with Christ. Each of us is wounded in a variety of ways. Each of us desperately needs to exchange intimate glances with Christ. Where better than in his own house? It also reminds me of The Cloistered Heart writings. I must remember to read them again and glean inspiration for my class.

The beginning of the intercessions and the final prayer both tie in with this.

“We are the living stones that are laid upon the cornerstone that is Christ. Let us pray to our all-powerful Father for his son’s beloved church, professing our faith in her as we say; This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.”

“O God who from living and chosen stones prepare an eternal dwelling for your majesty increase in your church the spirit of grace you have bestowed, so that by new growth your faithful people may build up the heavenly Jerusalem.”

We are living stones because we are laid upon Jesus. He is our cornerstone and foundation. Without him we have no life in us. Again, we are praying for the church, for all souls in need. We are living our Carmelite vocation as intercessors in prayer. We are being individually and communally a house of prayer and through our efforts united to Christ we are acting as a gate of heaven opening the fountains of grace to our brothers and sisters and helping them on their journey to heaven as they and others have and are helping us in the same.

Ruah, Breath of God, I thank you for these insights that you have bestowed upon me today. I have done nothing to warrant them and could through my own devices have done nothing to achieve them They are your gift and yours alone. I can but be grateful and open my hands to receive them from your love. Thank you.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/feast-for-dedication-of-st-john-lateran-2017/feed/0peachesteaberryJan. 7, 2017https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/jan-7-2017/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/jan-7-2017/#respondSat, 07 Jan 2017 18:42:40 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=74]]>I have fallen off the wagon so to speak. My prayer life has gone back to what it was before the new year began. So today I start again.

I asked God to send ice for my 60th birthday. It’s in 4 days. We now have around 6+ inches of snow. It is so beautiful. Thank you Lord.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/jan-7-2017/feed/0peachesteaberryJan. 3, 2017https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/jan-3-2017/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/jan-3-2017/#respondWed, 04 Jan 2017 00:30:26 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=71]]>Today is starting better. I got up at a reasonable hour and I have done some more reading in the retreat book. Today its talking about how everything around us belongs to God and how we are mere stewards of creation. It hit me that my body belongs to God in a real way. I am merely its’ steward. My body is a “trust”. My gluttony and other choices / flaws are actual abuses of His property and I will be punished for them. I owe Him “legal” restitution for those abuses. Maybe “lawful” would be a better term. I’ve always know this, but reading it today made it visceral. I have pride issues with the idea that my independence is an illusion. I belong to God. I am His property. I have no rights independent of Him. I have the same flaw that Lucifer had. May God grant me the grace to overcome it better than he did.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/jan-3-2017/feed/0peachesteaberryJan. 2, 2017https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/jan-2-2017/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/jan-2-2017/#respondTue, 03 Jan 2017 03:57:15 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=68]]>Well, today didn’t go too well. I did a little bit of the first hour and missed my office entirely. I have no excuse. I will need to discipline myself much more carefully as regards online gaming and reading.

I found a site, ambient-mixer.com which has background sounds for you to listen to while you write. I’m currently in Rivendell listening to celtic harp and birdsong.

Today I had my first retreat day. It went very well. I love the writings in this book and found them very thought provoking. I recognized a tendency towards extreme pride where God is concerned that I am going to have to work on overcoming.

I only made it through one hour but I spread it over the entire day so I found myself being frequently brought back to God and spiritual matters. I think that helped me resist the temptation to live in a fantasy world the way I have for the past almost 60 years. I didn’t resist all day, but I had several successes so I want to continue scattering my efforts throughout the day to encourage myself to return to spiritual matters.

I managed to say my office as required today even though vespers was awfully late and night office was right after it. Still it is more than I’ve done in years. I enjoyed the psalms from pg. 707 which used to be my least favorites. That goes to show that cultivating the right attitude can make all the difference.

I also picked up my church calendar and made notes as to various saints that I want to celebrate. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Theresa of Avila and St. Therese the little flower are all on Sundays this year. I need to make sure how to handle that but I believe Sunday takes precedence.

Lent starts early this year, so I want to search out some good recipes for Fridays. I want to really enjoy Lent and try to keep from getting sick at the same time. I want to start exercising on weekdays and watch my diet. My tendency towards laziness, sloth and gluttony needs to at least be an effort this year.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/jan-01-2017/feed/0peachesteaberryDec. 31, 2016https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/dec-31-2016/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/dec-31-2016/#respondSat, 31 Dec 2016 22:41:00 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=48]]>Well, it is the last day of the year and I have the beginnings of a spiritual plan. I am going to use the various retreat books that I have to spend most of the year in a home based retreat.

I am starting today with a 15 day intense Jesuit based Ignatian retreat. The book I am using is titled: The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola: 15 day retreat in order by day & hour (illustrated). It’s by St Ignatius of Loyola & Rolf Jansen. You have 3 considerations to make the day before you start. Another of my books, The Thirty-Day Retreat in the Carmelite Tradition by Ivan Cormac Marsh, O.Carm. gives a brief talk about spiritual journaling so I intend to try to journal every day.

I haven’t made a decision on what books I’ll use for my spiritual reading. I have so many good ones to choose from. Naturally I’ll have whatever book we use for our Carmelite classes as well. I am leaning towards one of my books on St. Joseph for February in preparation for his month of devotion in March. I would like to reread at least one of my books by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity in case Mary Moore has me teach a class this year. Add to that one book by Cantalamessa and maybe a reread of one of St. Theresa of Avila & St. John of the Cross’ books to get a better grounding in Carmelite spirituality.

I am interested in writing a retreat book based on St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. I’d like to use this year to learn what makes a good retreat book from my experiences. I don’t expect to get started on it this year but I’d like to get a format / outline done. I also like the idea of doing a book along the lines of St. Benedict’s Toolbox, a book for Benedictine oblates in post Christian nations. I think there is a hunger for spirituality that our Carmelite charism could speak to with these books. Maybe this is a way to respond to my writing inclination and whatever my vocation might be. Perhaps I can have enough study done to actually start writing for Camp Nano or Nano itself in November. That would be wonderful.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/dec-31-2016/feed/0peachesteaberryJan. 01, 2016https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/jan-01-2016/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/jan-01-2016/#respondSat, 02 Jan 2016 02:18:18 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=42]]>Well, it’s been a few months and here I am again. I am going to try to post at least one time a week on one of these three blogs. I imagine that the stories blog, Realms & Dreamscapes will, get the fewest posts since I seldom write. I can’t even promise to do much writing. However this is a start.]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/jan-01-2016/feed/0peachesteaberryOctober 16, 2015https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/october-16-2015/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/october-16-2015/#respondSat, 17 Oct 2015 01:18:09 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=40]]>Nano is fast approaching. I hope to get some prep work done on Kiss of Death before November hits. I’d love to actually reach 50k this time. I need to redo the entire plot, weed out what doesn’t fit and then start again.

I have gained more weight. I hit 257 this month. I know I need to kick sugar and carbs to the curb and put more veggies and fruit in my diet. I just have to be so careful or I wind up sick on a daily basis. I suspect I need a high protein diet. That seems to cause the least amount of issues. I have enough chicken in the freezer atm and a nice pork butt. I need some brats and a bit of hamburger or turkey for Mexican dishes. I want to go to the lowes foods down the road and see what they have available. Michelle says she likes it a lot.

Fall is here and I am feeling the urge to crochet with all the wet weather we’ve been having thanks to the hurricane off the coast. I picked up the oct. issues of my crochet magazines and found a few things I’d like to try. I still haven’t finished my hairpin lace scarves. Too lazy to weave the ends in so far!

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/october-16-2015/feed/0peachesteaberryLost in the darkhttps://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/lost-in-the-dark/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/lost-in-the-dark/#respondThu, 15 Jan 2015 22:32:13 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=37]]>It is January 2015. I have just turned 58. As we entered the dying of the year I turned away in a definite manner from Him who loves me. I acted out of fear and now it is fear that holds me back from a return to the warmth of the Son. I am afraid to trust Him. Afraid of what He might demand of me in the confessional and what the consequences of my action might be.

The consequences could be serious. Homelessness, poverty and even possible imprisonment. No one who knows me or observes my life would expect that I might be facing such things. My life looks so self assured. They don’t see my brain scurrying in futile circles trying to find a way to escape the consequences and yet still return. I know deep down it is futile. I know I need to accept what lies ahead. But fear holds me motionless. I can only beg for pity and mercy in the darkness as I writhe in misery.

]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/lost-in-the-dark/feed/0peachesteaberrybook recomendationhttps://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/book-recomendation/
https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/book-recomendation/#respondThu, 20 Mar 2014 21:21:52 +0000http://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/?p=29]]>I, too, am using lent to learn more about St. Joseph. I am reading a kindle book called, Joseph the man who raised Jesus, by Gary Caster. It has only been reviewed once and that reader apparently hated it. Perhaps because information about Joseph was not served up on a platter. In this book you learn about Joseph by seeing the influence he had on Jesus himself. You have to actually make an effort to recognize his influence, but for my part I am finding it worth while so I thought I would recommend it to you.]]>https://peachesteaberry.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/book-recomendation/feed/0peachesteaberry